After 18 years of waiting, comes ‘Ganesh-bhakt’ showman Rohit Shetty’s turn to sponsor divine idol of Sarvajanik Maha Ganesha ! by Chaitanya Padukone Entertainment: After waiting for 18 years, three years ago ( Sept 2021) it was finally the turn of Bollywood ‘showman’ producer-director and reality-action TV show host Rohit Shetty By Chaitanya Padukone 02 Aug 2024 in Entertainment New Update Listen to this article 0.75x 1x 1.5x 00:00 / 00:00 Follow Us Share After waiting for 18 years, three years ago ( Sept 2021) it was finally the turn of Bollywood ‘showman’ producer-director and reality-action TV show host Rohit Shetty ( wearing a corona mask) along with his wife Maya Shetty to sponsor the cost of the ‘ichhapurti’ Ganesha idol and also offer elaborate pooja-aarti –prayers to the highly revered Andhericha Raja—Sarvajanik (Navsaala Paavnara ) Ganesha located off Veera Desai Rd in Andheri West Mumbai. The action-king director Rohit who made his directorial debut with Ajay Devgn starrer movie 'Zameen' (2003) is literally down-to-earth and grounded by nature. The dynamic director- TV action reality show host Rohit Shetty will be releasing his next cop-universe blockbuster 'Singham Again' during Diwali 2024 weekend in November This movie has a formidable superstar cast of Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh along with ("Lady Singham") Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor and many other popular names. The “ichhapurti “ (wish-fulfilling) idol which has a staunch massive following of lakhs of loyal common-man devotees is also among the top worshipped Ganesha deity among the Bollywood fraternity. According to Uday Salian, the spokesperson of the Andhericha Raja Samiti, it is decided much in advance. by a ‘streamlined lottery system’ as to who would be sponsoring each year’s Maha Ganesha idol. “Actually, Rohit Shetty had booked his idol-sponsoring turn, some 18 years in advance and had patiently waited all these years for his turn. This time children were asked to pick the lucky names of aspiring future sponsors. Now, the sponsorship is booked right up to the year 2066, “informs Uday Salian. A large galaxy of Bollywood star-actors, models and actresses including Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut, Shatrughan Sinha, Ranjeet, Suniel Shetty, Nana Patekar, Anup Jalota, Raveena Tandon, Sonam Kapoor, Urvashi Rautela, Sakshi Tanwar, Shefali Zariwala and many more celebs , during the past several years, ( long before the Corona pandemic had set in) have religiously visited the Andhericha Raja pandal for ‘darshan’ and ‘aarti-prasaad’ . It’s the only Sarvajanik idol ( now in Mumbai that is immersed on 'Sankashti’-day, few days after Ananth Chaturdashi (the final day when all other idols are immersed.) In the 56th year (2021), the organizers-trustees had bid farewell to Andhericha Raja on the auspicious Sankashti day. The Ganesha celebrations in 2020 and 2021 were in strict compliance with Covid-19 safety restrictions as announced by the BMC officials. Read also: Mona Singh recalls her first meeting with Aryan Khan, Suhana! Aryan Khan Buys Property in Delhi, Shares Special Connection with Shahrukh KKK 14: Rohit Shetty gets angry at Asim Riaz, says- 'I will pick him up and throw him here' Rajeev Khandelwal reacted on the ban on Pakistani artists #Sarvajanik Maha Ganesha Related Articles Advertisment Latest Stories Read the Next Article